2.1 Recommendation 12 of the report of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry was that the definition of a racist incident should be:

"any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person."

2.2 This definition has already been adopted by the police and several other agencies and it is commended to all. It is a simpler and clearer version of the ACPO definition that was previously used by most agencies. It is vital that in establishing a comprehensive system for the reporting and recording of racist incidents, the different agencies involved are working to the same definition.

2.3 In his Action Plan on the Report, the Home Secretary said that the Home Office would "ensure that the Inquiry's simplified definition of a racist incident is universally adopted by the police, local government and other relevant agencies".

2.4 The definition of a racist incident that should be used by all agencies is that recommended by the Report of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. The purpose of this definition is not to prejudge the question of whether a perpetrator's motive was racist or not: that may have to be proved if, for instance, the perpetrator is to be charged with a racially aggravated offence. The purpose of the definition is rather to ensure that investigations take full account of the possibility of a racist dimension to the incident and that statistics of such incidents are collected on a uniform basis.

"That the term "racist incident" must be understood to include crimes and non-crimes in policing terms. Both must be reported, recorded and investigated with equal commitment."2

3.2 Agencies should be committed to recording both crimes and non-crimes as racist incidents.

3.3 Racist incidents are not recorded only to provide statistics at a national level, nor even to provide statistics at a local level, although these are obviously useful outcomes of recording. But recording incidents also allows the victim to be offered support and enables intelligence to be gathered, which will help appropriate preventative measures to be put in place and information to be collected that may help in dealing with the perpetrator/s, and focus resources on areas of need.

3.4 Recording racist incidents under the new definition should capture all incidents with a racist element, including low-level harassment and those incidents that are not identifiable offences. The rationale for this is that recording all such incidents allows the police and other agencies to identify tension indicators early on which can be used to prevent further incidents or crimes or can provide useful information if the incidents later escalate to the level of crimes. The aim is to identify underlying trends and build up a picture of racism in the local area. Historically there has been much under-reporting and under-recording of racist incidents. Many incidents are still not reported to the police, though some may be reported to other agencies. Even if crimes are reported, the racist element may not be mentioned.3

Examples on recording racist incidents

3.5 The examples below refer to cases where the incident or crime occurs in a public place, and investigation is the responsibility of the police. In a case where the incident occurs in a place which is under the control of an employer or service provider, the employer or service provider is obliged to take action in order to comply with the Race Relations Act 1976 (currently being amended to apply to all public services). Thus, for example, if a black woman feels herself to be the subject of racial discrimination at work, this should be dealt with in the first instance by her employer under equal opportunities policy, although she may of course report any incidents to another agency if she feels more comfortable doing so.

Examples of incidents which provide useful information for the future

3.6 An Asian man calls the police because white youths are hanging around outside his house. He perceives their presence as racist and the police therefore fill in a racist incident form. Some time later his windows are smashed. The earlier information about racist incidents may provide useful intelligence to the police in solving the crime.

3.7 A teacher overhears a white child calling an Asian child a "Paki". The teacher records this as a racist incident, even though the abused child does not complain to him, and speaks to the child responsible for the abuse. If a more serious incident occurs later on, the teacher has a written record of a previous incident that would allow the subsequent incident not to be dealt with in isolation.

Example of the wider implications of applying the definition of a racist incident

(âperceived to be racist by the victim or any other person')

3.8 The car tyres of a Chinese woman have been slashed. She does not think the incident is racist, but her white neighbour does and reports the matter to the local Race Equality Council. They should record the incident as racist based on the perception of the neighbour, even if the victim disagrees.

Example of an âAsian on Asian'racist incident

3.9 There is a dispute outside a shop between two groups of youths. One of the young men, of Pakistani origin, is punched in the face by a young man of Indian origin. The victim reports this to the police and tells them that he believes it is a racist incident. The police should record this as a racist incident, since the young man believes that he was attacked because of his ethnic origin.

Example of a âWhite on White'racist incident

3.10 Two white males from a community of asylum-seekers visit a local pub shortly after moving into the area. The white barman refuses to serve them, saying that all asylum-seekers are troublemakers. The two men report this incident to a local support group, who should record it as a racist incident, since it is based on stereotyping of the two men according to their ethnic group.

I can't think of a more effective formula for stirring up racial resentment than to encourage some people to haul others in front of a magistrate because of their asserted "perception" that they were subjected to some racially-inspired aggression, not otherwise punishable, or not otherwise so severely punishable.

You couldn't ask for a better way of splitting up a nation into mutually antagonistic groups.

The people behind this never tire of proclaiming their allegedly noble intentions.

Having been attached to a Scottish Infantry Battalion, who, on ops and tours, were possibly the most professional unit I have ever worked for, I suffered racial abuse for being English. When i complained (foolishly going through the units own Equal Opportunities system) only to get a senior member of that Battalion telling me that 'You are not black so we are not being racist you English C*nt'

This is not an anti Scottish Tirade, please do not mis-read this, but an example of how people percieve what is racist and what is permissable.

The problem is, as your wholly commendable account of a 'racist incident' as defined by ACPO states, if ANYONE at the scene of an incident declares any part of said incident to be 'racist' then it is deemed to be such. This then complicates an otherwise fair and unbiased investigation into becoming an investigation into which every one has a vested interest, especially any senior management looking for a scapegoat to aid his/her/its promotion.

Separate legislation for race highlights only our divisions and the very roots of racism on all parts. The law should not only be based in 'blind justice' but also 'colour blind justice'

Separate legislation for race highlights only our divisions and the very roots of racism on all parts. The law should not only be based in 'blind justice' but also 'colour blind justice'

Click to expand...

One of the major conclusions of the Macpherson report is that the police should end colour-blind policing and recognise the different cultural experiences of different races in the UK... This was one of the more obnoxious conclusions